World Cup obsession ultimately cost Eddie Jones his position as England coach, All Blacks great says

All Blacks great manager Steve Hansen believes that Eddie Jones’ big focus at next year’s Rugby World Cup probably cost him his job in England.

Hansen has been appointed to lead a World XV against a Jones-led Barbarians team at Twickenham in May.

The 2015 World Cup winner admitted he was baffled by the timing of England’s decision to sack their Australian manager.

Jones looks dejected after his team’s defeat in the Guinness Six Nations match between Wales and England at the Principality Stadium on February 27, 2021 in Cardiff, Wales.

“It was pretty amazing that they replaced it now, when the whole time Eddie has been saying ‘look, this is what we’re building for,'” Hansen said.

He has been their most successful coach in history. Some might say that Clive (Woodward) is because he won a World Cup. However, the record speaks for itself, doesn’t it?

“I know Eddie had a lot of focus at the World Cup and that’s probably what it cost him in the end, because he didn’t have a good autumn and people were frustrated about it.

New Zealand’s Steve Hansen and Richie McCaw pose with the Webb Ellis Cup after the 2015 Rugby World Cup final match victory between New Zealand and Australia

Jones can boast a 73 per cent winning record for England during his seven years in charge since 2015, leading them to the last World Cup final in Japan with a masterful semi-final victory over the All Blacks.

But he was sacked on December 6 following a disappointing autumn international campaign having finished third in the Six Nations with a 2-3 record earlier in the year.

Rugby Australia has sounded out former Wallabies manager Jones about a possible return home, while other nations have also expressed interest in his services.

“You enjoy every opportunity to go against Eddie,” Hansen said. We’ve known each other for a long, long time and he’s a good rugby player.

“With Eddie, you have to expect the unexpected, because one of his great attributes is his ability to analyze the opposition and set them up.

“He is a great planner, which is why he has been so successful with so many teams in different World Cups, having won one with South Africa (as an adviser).”

Jones looks dejected after his loss during the 2019 Rugby World Cup Final between England and South Africa at Yokohama International Stadium.

Jones has been linked to a number of positions, including a last-minute inclusion for another nation in the World Cup and also code-swapping training in the NRL in Australia.

However, the veteran mentor said missing the England gig had given him time to reflect and realize how much it had cost him, with a break now firmly in the cards.

“Training in the next World Cup will be difficult,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald.

‘It has probably struck me that the last three years have taken quite a bit from me. Three, four days after I got fired, we had to get the dog vaccinated against rabies, now we have to try to get her out of the country, and I went to the local mall and realized that I probably hadn’t. been there for two and a half years.

Jones in action during the Ausralian Wallabies training session at Victoria Barracks on June 16, 2004 in Sydney, Australia

“It pretty much covers the last three years, so I think I’ll take a breather now. If someone comes forward and the offer is too good to turn down, I’ll look at it, but I think it’s getting too close to the starting point of the World Cup so I’m not too worried one way or the other.

Jones refuses to be swayed by speculation that he might return to Australia for the first time in 15 years in a professional sense, however, he said he was interested in “anything where I can add value.”

‘That would be my starting point: if I can add value and if they can win. Those are the two things I’m looking at.